Carter guides on my 14" Jet BS

[lowell holmes]

I added the Carter guides yesterday. The saw doesn't seem like the same saw. It seems like some vibration is gone and the cut is smooth.

I haven't re-sawed with it yet. I'm running a 3/8" 4ti skip tooth blade and low tension. The saw is cutting straight with out any shaking and baking.

It does not handle high blade tension well, but then high tension is not needed.

[Scott Brandstetter]

Lowell, thanks for the info. I have seen threads like this before and have to be honest, I don't understand what the Carter guides do differently. Would you mind explaining a bit to help me understand.

[Myk Rian]

I always heard those guides are only good for under 3/8" and smaller blades, and for scroll work.
I don't think the set-up will do much good for re-sawing, which really works best with a 1/2" 3-4tpi blade for that saw.
It will be interesting to know how it works for you.

[lowell holmes]

The Carter guides are more precise than the guides that use cool blocks. As a result, you set the clearances around the blade and they stay set. The lateral movement of the blade is minimized. The cool blocks wear and allow more lateral movement and also twisting of the blade. With the new ball bearing guides, the blade is not twisting when the cutting forces set in. The blade stays straight into the cut.

I also recognize when I set blade tension high to keep the blade from bowing laterally, the whole machine is working harder. The low tooth count, less tension, and consistent lateral support allows the saw to cut more precisely.

I have not set the saw up for re-saw yet with the new guides.

What I just wrote is nothing more than my impression of what happens. I may or may not be correct.

I just saw Myk's post. I will be cutting the arms for a rocking chair I'm building tomorrow. It will get a good workout. I occaisonaly use a 1/2" blade, but prefer 3/8".

[Sean Troy]

I have the exact same setup and like it very much. I've used 1/2, 3/16 and 3/8 blades with the Carter guides on my 14" jet with risers.

[Mike Cutler]

I've had the Carter's on my Jet 14" for a decade or so. They're great!
I modified the lower guide with a spacer to get it as close to the underside of the table as possible. ( More akin to the Delta configuration )

Consider, if you haven't dome so already, adding the Carter Cobra Coil to your saw to replace the OEM spring. You'll gain about +4K psi to the blade in spring pressure.
The stock spring on mine tested out to about 9 Kpsi and the Carter's gave me about 14 Kpsi when I tested it. Made a big difference with a 1/2" resaw blade.

[lowell holmes]

I have the stiffer spring. It's not a Carter. I bought it several years ago and don't remember where it came from. I adjust the the spring down one blade size, in other words it will be at the 1/4" setting for a 3/8" blade. It does make a difference for resawing. The bottom guide could be raised with spacers under it and longer bolts. I'll have to think about that.